Just Check!

Make-do Moms, Financially-focused Fathers, our Bargain-Hunting Brothers and all our Thrifty Sisters, you are our heroes – our Nation of Savers. We applaud your efforts to build your life and go after your dreams. We know you’re ready to take on the Just Check Challenge. Let’s do this!

Just Check Your Account

Millions of dollars are languishing in dormant accounts across Jamaica where most banks are depleting them with fees. Good thing you’ve got Victoria Mutual Building Society, where dormant accounts are fee-free and continue to earn interest! So, if your goals have been parked, Just Check (876) 754-7000 to see if you’ve got forgotten funds, then step on the gas so we can move forward together again.

Just Check Your Fees

Financial institutions provide an important service, but fees aren’t fair if they don’t give you value in return. So Just Check Part 2 is to track your fees. Look through your last 3 statements, add up your spend and ask yourself if the services you’ve been getting are worth the fees you’ve paid. If they’re not it’s time for us to talk!

Just Check Your Save

We know you’re working to make your hard-earned money stretch. But what are you doing with that effort? Simply saving $50 more each day gives you an extra $18,250 at the end of the year, and even more with our iSave account. Our job is to help you get to your goals and we’re happy to do it. Call or stop by and we’ll figure out the best savings plan for you, wherever you are on your journey to Financial Independence.

Power up!

Knowledge is power, Savers, and it's our pride and privilege to plug you in.

Mutual Benefits

We are our Members, so keeping you happy is the very core of what it means to be Victoria Mutual.

No or Low fees

You should be thinking about saving, not high bank charges

Our awesome team works harder so you can spend less. There is NO monthly account maintenance or minimum balance fees, FREE transactions at any Multilink ABM islandwide, NO in-store debit card charges, FREE online banking and bill-pay, and ZERO dormant account fees.

Great rates

As a Mutual our focus is every one of our Members

We’re proud of the work we do to give you safe, convenient ways to save, borrow and invest. What does that mean as you go about doing your day-to-day finances? It means you get real benefits and tangible value like higher rates on savings – up to 6% on our VM iSave account.

There For You

We’re your very own Financial Independence team

Our Member Care team is more than happy to give advice (it’s free!) or lend an ear if you have a money matter or need to update your financial plan. Call, email, talk to us on the social web or stop in and take some time to make your goals, and the dreams of the ones you love, something real.

DORMANT BUT NOT

If you didn’t close it, we didn’t either – it’s here and growing

Many of you have changed address or surname or simply lost touch. Others have forgotten accounts started by parents or are beneficiaries of estates that include accounts. Our dormant accounts are fee-free and earn interest at the same rates as active ones. Ready to restart? Just Check!

Join The Bank Fee Convo

I got 99 problems but bank fees ain’t one :D I not into paying money to spend my money so I don’t use anything but my VMBS card.

How Do You Feel About Bank Fees?

Our Fees

At VMBS we’re Member owned so people always come before profits. We create value and return that value to all our Members since we don’t have to pay a small group of shareholders and have our Members pick up the tab. We’re committed to keeping our fees as low as possible and at zero when we can. That’s why in a recent study of Jamaican financial institutions VMBS offered lowest fees in more categories than any other building society, credit union or bank.

TRANSACTION

FEE

TRANSACTION

FEE

Minimum Monthly Balance

$0

Reactivate Dormant VMBS Account

$0

Charges if Balance is Not Maintained

$0

ABM Transaction (Our ABMs)

$0

In-Branch Withdrawal

$51

ABM Transaction (Other Multilink ABMs)

$0

Manager’s Cheque

$200

ABM Declined Transaction (Our ABMs)

$0

In-Store Purchase (Our POS Machine)

$0

ABM Declined Transaction (Other Multilink ABMs)

$0

In-Store Purchase (Other Multilink POS Machine)

$0

ABM Balance Enquiry (Our ABMs)

$0

In-Store Declined Transaction (any POS Machine)

$0

ABM Balance Enquiry (Other Multilink ABMs)

$0

Just Check! Calculator

I do my every day banking with

How many times do you withdraw money from a VMBS ABM in a month?

How many times do you withdraw money from another bank's ABM in a month?

How many times per month do you use your VMBS card to make in-store debit purchases?

'Other Bank' fees in Just Check calculator based on published 2015 fees of leading local commercial banks.

WE'RE GLAD TO HELP OUR MEMBERS' SAVINGS GO FURTHER!

WE'RE RINGING THE ALARM!

It's Time to Get Up and Save Dormant Members

You know that feeling you get when you find money unexpectedly? Perhaps in the pocket of your jeans when they come out of the wash, or under the bed.
Maybe while you were rummaging through the sofa cushions for the missing remote and, every so often, in those easy-to-forget compartments of our bags.
It's happened to all of us - and when it does, no matter big or small, it feels great! Can you imagine how it would feel to find an entire savings account?

Hard as it is to believe, lots of you have money that's gone dormant in banks all over Jamaica and, for some of you, at VMBS. Accounts are declared dormant
after a long period of inactivity to protect the account holder. The period varies from place to place but at Victoria Mutual
any account that hasn't been used for over 18 months is declared dormant.

Moving to a new home and moving abroad for a while are the main reasons people forget about accounts. The statements stop coming and it eventually goes to the back of your mind.
Other causes tend to be name changes after marriage or divorce or accounts left to beneficiaries of an estate that they don't know about.
At VMBS some of our dormant accounts are held by Members who opened an account with their parents, some at school, as young children.

At many banks dormant accounts are charged a fee and even stop earning interest.
The Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC) put out an appeal to banks in 2014 after hearing dreadful tales from people who returned to their banks to find their savings had dwindled away.
But at many institutions these fees are still increasing.

At Victoria Mutual there is no fee charged on dormant accounts, not even minimum balance fees. And accounts with sufficient balances earn interest! We also don't charge to reactivate them.
But, we do think it's time that our dormant account holders come back from their breaks and get saving again. So many of you have goals that you need to save for, and there's no better place for Savers than Victoria Mutual.
We're determined to keep fees No-or-Low, interest on savings great and our Members' eyes on the ball.

So if you think you might have savings growing at VMBS, waiting for you to come back and save some more, we're challenging you to Just Check! If you happen to find an account, congratulations, it's time to keep saving.
Call (876) 754-7000 or visit a VMBS branch near you. If you don't, perhaps it's time for you to open a VMBS account because it definitely BENEFITS
YOU TO JOIN US!

FOR YOUR SECURITY: If you receive an email notice requesting personal details, such as your bank account number, pin or password, delete it immediately and do not respond. VMBS will not email requests for bank information.
You never have to pay to reactivate your VMBS dormant account.

Home of the Saver Nation

Just Check Q&A

Email it to us at victoriamutualsocial@gmail.com or call us at (876) 754-7000 to Just Check! and start saving more with the Victoria Mutual Family.

How can I save more?

There's lots of ways to save more, call, come chat with us, read our blog, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter for tonnes of saving tips and nifty-thrifty hacks. Here are a few for now:

Create a budget. List your inflows (your income) and outflows (your spend) to get started. Break your outflows, into essential expenditure, discretionary spending, and savings (and other financial obligations) and try to stick to an approximately 50:30:20 ratio respectively.

Pay close attention to your purchases so you have an idea of where your money is going, make sure not to leave out that snack at work, money you drop in the charity box or any bank fees you might be paying.

Get to know the difference between want and need.

Each time you're tempted to make an unplanned purchase, wait at least a week before you decide whether or not to buy it.

Never buy anything just because it's on sale.

How can you help me to save?

For many of us it feels like there's never enough money to pay for what we need and do the things we want, much less to put some aside in savings. The truth is, no matter how much or how little money you earn, it is always possible to save. Here's how we can help:

Our automated savings account, VM iSave, which offers up to 6% interest to give you a boost. Just set how much and when you want to iSave and it will automatically transfer funds from your regular account each month to your iSave, without you lifting a finger.

A dollar saved is a dollar earned, so we charge lower fees, and often no fees, so you get more from your efforts.

Free advice. Visit us or give us a call, we're happy to talk with you about where you are, where you want to go and how to get there.

What savings account options to you have?

VMBS has a savings plan to meet almost every need, no-matter where you are in life. We like to get to know each of you to help you choose what's best based on your short-,
medium- and long-term goals and set you on your path to financial independence.
So feel free to pop in and have a talk with one of our Advisors about which of the following savings solutions are right for you:

VM Everyday Account:

A convenient savings account that has no monthly maintenance, cheque deposit or debit card fees, so you can access your funds at any Multilink ABM or POS with no charge. And a good interest rate to encourage and reward your savings efforts.

VM iSave:

An easy and fulfilling way to save for your short to medium-term financial goals and get fantastic interest rates. Set-up automated savings in any one of four currencies.
It's a minimum-effort way to make a monthly commitment to saving for 12 months, with the option to renew at the end of the period.

VM Save2Grow:

Geared towards young savers pursuing primary, secondary or tertiary level education.
Our Save2Grow gives students and teachers an opportunity to benefit from scholarships, bursaries, bonus interest and gift certificates to their schools. The VM Save2Grow School Savings Programme is designed to help young Jamaicans develop the habit of saving as a lifelong skill.

VM iGain:

A low-risk, high-yielding certificate of deposit that offers you a chance to make the most of a lump-sum of money that you don't plan to use immediately. You can save in your choice of US Dollars, Canadian Dollars, British Pound Sterling or Jamaican Dollars.

How do I know which savings account is right for me?

The best way to determine the account, or combinations of accounts, that suit you is to have a conversation with one of our Advisors. We're more than happy to help you create or update your plan, as well as choose the best savings solutions to help you achieve your life-goals.

We're proud to say that there are many zero-fee services at Victoria Mutual.

ZERO ABM FEES AT ANY MULTILINK ABM which means just about every ABM across the island is free with your VM Express Card.

ZERO POINT OF SALE (POS) CHARGES when you shop so you can take advantage of the safety and convenience of a debit card, and avoid carrying large sums of cash.

ZERO MONTHLY ACCOUNT MAINTENANCE FEES, we don't charge you to save with us.

NO CHEQUE CASHING OR DEPOSIT FEE. What you earn is yours.

NO CHARGE TO MAKE DEPOSITS OR TRANSFERS TO YOUR ACCOUNTS, so you're free to manage you savings with confidence.

THERE'S NO MINIMUM BALANCE FEES. We get it, life-happens, so if you slip below the minimum balance we're certainly not going to charge you for it.

NO DORMANT ACCOUNT FEES. Some of you savers opened accounts as children and lost track of it along the way, others have lived overseas for a few years,
or you might have just overlooked your savings, got caught up in the hectic day-to-day. We don't charge you to secure savings, active or dormant.
You'll even EARN INTEREST so your money will continue to grow and wait for you to get saving again.

MANAGE YOUR MONEY FOR FREE WITH VM EXPRESS ONLINE, you can pay your bills and check on your account while having lunch at work or in your pyjamas at home.

What fees do you have at VMBS?

We have fees to cover the operating costs to process some transactions, but we keep them as low as we can and always transparent – at all times fair.
These fees keep our branches and equipment maintained and updated, and compensate the team that works to serve you, as well as covers a portion of external charges.
We charge fees to do things like withdraw money from the branch (so we encourage you to make zero-fee withdrawals at the ABM whenever you can), as well as to draft a managers cheque.
Click here to view our fee schedule.

How much does it cost to use ABMS with my VMBS debit card?

$0 – All Multilink ABMs are FREE to use with your VM Express 24-Hour Debit Card.

You'll pay the lowest interest rate among Jamaican financial institutions, 9.29%, for a mortgage to buy or repair your home with VMBS,
with up to 35 years to repay, no processing or commitment fees, and lots more.

What VMBS fees will I pay with a VMBS mortgage?

You'll pay ZERO processing or commitment fees when you get a mortgage with VMBS.

What is a dormant account?

When there's no deposits or withdrawals from an account for a long period it will be labelled ‘dormant'.
This period varies among financial institutions. At VMBS Savings Accounts become dormant if there is no activity for over 18 months.

And bring in a few forms. The ones you'll need depend on what's out of date. You need a valid government I.D and TRN.
And if you've moved or are missing proof of address, you need to bring a recent utility bill or bank statement.
You might also need 2 completed reference forms, especially if you haven't updated you information since turning 18.

If you've changed your name, are the beneficiary of an estate or opened the account with others, we can give you more information on the Just Check! Hotline, (876) 754-7000.

Do I pay to reactivate my dormant account?

No, when you reactivate your VMBS savings account the only person you'll pay is yourself!

What if I opened the account with others, how can I reactivate?

You'll either need to come in to reactivate your savings together. Or you can submit a waiver form signed by the other account holder.
If the other account holder has died you'll need to submit certified documentation.

Why are accounts put into dormant status?

Savings accounts are made dormant to protect you from potential fraud, identity theft or to secure your personal information.
There are often attempts to reach out to savers before dormancy which is why it's important to always keep your Member Information up to date.

How do I keep my account from going dormant?

The best way to prevent falling into dormant status is to use your account. Check your accounts regularly, set up automated savings and bill payments, and other standing orders.
Try to deposit savings into each account every month, no matter how much. And make sure to keep your Member Information up to date –
stop by if your ID expires, you marry, divorce or change your name, switch jobs, lose someone who shares an account with you, move, immigrate or emigrate.
We'll help you get updated and help you revise your financial plan if you need to.

How do I open an account?

In order to open a VM personal savings or deposit account you will need to bring along a government ID, 2 character reference forms, your TRN, and proof of address, then deposit $1,000 or more in your new account.
The forms are all available for download at www.vmbs.com and www.justcheckvmbs.com,
you can stop by a branch and pick them up or call us and we can mail or email them to you.
It's really easy, because we give you lots of options to choose from, look through the lists below.

You only need 1 form of government ID, you can choose from:

A Passport

A Driver's license

Jamaica's Electoral Registration ID Card

Citizenship or Resident Card for countries outside Jamaica

For minors – a school identification with student's photograph and signature, birth certificate, passport, or a certified passport-sized photograph

You'll need 2 character references, they can be any of the following people:

Director or permanent staff member of The VM Group

Customer's Employer (Conditions Apply)

Principal of a School

Senior officers and managers of a regulated financial institution

Justice of the peace

Attorney at law

Notary Public

Minister of Religion

Medical Practitioner

1 Proof of Address, which can be either:

A Recent utility bill with your name and home address

A recent bank statement with your name and home address

How much money do I need to start saving with VMBS?

You can open an account and start saving with the VMBS family with as little as $1000.

And bring in a few forms. The ones you'll need depend on what's out of date. You need a valid government I.D and TRN.
And if you've moved or are missing proof of address, you need to bring a recent utility bill or bank statement.
You might also need 2 completed reference forms, especially if you haven't updated you information since turning 18.

If you've changed your name, are the beneficiary of an estate or opened the account with others, we can give you more information on the Just Check! Hotline, (876) 754-7000.

What account can I open for my child (or children)?

You can open a VM Save2Grow account for your young savers. Parents or guardians need a government ID, TRN, 2 character references, and a proof of address as well as the child's birth certificate to open the account.
You'll need to make a deposit of at least $1000 to your child's account to start them saving. There are 3 Save2Grow accounts:

the Junior Plan for children age 0-11; who can potentially qualify GSAT scholarships,

the Future Plan for children age 12-17; who can potentially qualify for a 3 year scholarship at a local tertiary institution,

and the Master Plan for students 18 and over; with a potential for a scholarship to pursue tertiary study in their preferred field or to get a HeadStart to help build a small business.
Since the Master Plan is for student savers over 18, it doesn't require a parent or guardian. The student saver will have to submit documents of their own.

I'm under 18, can I open an account? How do I open an account?

Yes, you certainly can but you'll need the help of an adult. We offer the VM Save2Grow account for young savers.
Your parents or guardians need a government ID, TRN, 2 character references, and a proof of address as well as your birth certificate to open the account.
You'll need to make a deposit of at least $1000 to your account to start them saving. There are 3 Save2Grow accounts, 2 of which are for children:

the Junior Plan for children age 0-11; who can potentially qualify GSAT scholarships,

the Future Plan for children age 12-17; who can potentially qualify for a 3 year scholarship at a local tertiary institution.

Are there any fees on Save2Grow accounts?

The Save2Grow account has the same No-Or-Low Fees as other VMBS savings accounts.

What is a Mutual? How is a Mutual different from a bank?

We're a Mutual!

At Victoria Mutual you are not just a customer, you are a Member of our Society. As a Mutual organisation our business model differs from stockholder institutions,
such as Banks and Insurance Companies which are focused on profit maximization and the payment of dividends to relatively small groups of shareholders.
VMBS is owned by, and run for the benefit of every one of our Members.
VMBS offers similar products and services to those offered by Commercial Banks. But because our priority is returning real value to you, we offer higher savings rates,
lower mortgage rates and minimal or zero fees on your transactions.

What are the benefits of VMBS Membership?

No-Or-Low Fees is one among many privileges you get with VMBS Membership. We're proud and privileged to offer you:

Higher Savings Rates

Lower Lending and Mortgage Rates

No Fees at any Multilink Automated Banking Machine (ABM)

No Fees when you use your VM Express 24-Hour Debit in stores

No-Or-Low In-branch Transaction Fees

No Monthly Maintenance Fees

No Minimum Balance Fee

Fee-Free Cheque Cashing and Deposit

No Fees on Dormant Accounts

Free Financial Planning Advice

Even More Special Discounts for Senior Citizens

Access to Bursaries and Education Grants for our eligible Student Members

Financial Service Experts who'll come to you at your convenience

Free Online Money Management with VM Express Online

How much do I pay to open an account?

You don't pay to open accounts at VMBS.

How can I get financial advice?

Just come by and speak to any of our Advisors, if you're busy now call us to make an appointment soon – At VMBS advice is Free
for all our Members whether you have $1,000 or $100,000,000.

We have 16 ABMs located across the island, you can find the addresses here.
And because we offer ZERO-FEE ABM transactions with your VM Express 24-Hour Debit Card, every one of the about 700 ABMs islandwide -
no matter the colour or logo - is a VMBS ABM. Chances are there's an ABM right around the corner from you right now.

What if I can't come to you?

If you can't get to us, give us a call and we'll have one of our Financial Advisors come to you.

Our Member Engagement Centre number is 876-754-VMBS (8627) if you're calling from Jamaica; from the United States and Canada it's 1-866-VMBS (8627) and it's 0-800-068-VMBS (8627) in the UK.
If you're calling to Just Check, call 876-754-7000.